24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY july 6-12, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com When the world’s top golfers converge on one of the game’s most iconic courses, just about any outcome is possible. The field for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open—and the first to challenge the Pebble Beach Golf Links—consists of 156 professionals and amateurs. By the start of play on Saturday morning, that number will have been cut in half. Only the low 60 scorers (and those tied) will contend for the Harton S. Semple trophy. Of those 156, almost 90 received exemption into the event, thanks to previous performances. Mina Harigae, for instance, qualified after finishing second in last year’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in North Carolina. Annika Sörenstam is an LPGA legend and three-time Open champion. She received a special exemption from the USGA. Others had to suffer through the rigors of a qualifying tournament. Such is the status of Pebble Beach that a record 2,107 golfers—pros and amateurs—vied for fewer than 70 remaining spots through qualifying tournaments held at 26 courses. Australian Minjee Lee is the defending champion, one of five Australians in the field. Some 29 countries are represented, with 46 Americans and 22 each from Korea and Japan. Seven English golfers are here, joined by seven from Sweden. Laura Sluman will be the first Panama native to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open. There are other important landmarks. For the first time, network television will broadcast a women’s major tournament in primetime, on NBC. At $10 million, the purse is the highest in women’s golf. There are 156 storylines and all are intriguing. Here are just a few of the golfers to watch. Amari Avery (a) A standout on the USC golf squad with four recent collegiate wins, Amari Avery tends to keep herself in the mix. Since the start of the 2022 golf schedule, the 19-year-old has finished outside the top 50 only twice. At this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Avery filed in at 29th. The year before she ended up in a tie for fourth. At the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Avery made it to the round of 16. At the LPGA Chevron Championship at The Woodlands in Texas, she finished 45th, the second-highest amateur on the leaderboard. That has been her strength. The 2019 California Women’s Amateur champion is always around, even when she’s not contending for the win. Avery holds the 10th spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and has risen as high as fifth. This is her second appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. Saki Baba (a) Saki Baba sits second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking list for her consistent play against tough competition. A year ago she easily dispatched Monet Chun in the final round of the U.S. Women’s Amateur 11 and 9 in match play—the third biggest margin of victory in the event’s title round. Since the start of 2021, the 18-yearold from Japan has taken part in 13 professional events, finishing 11th at the 2022 Japan Women’s Open. In all tournaments during that span, Baba has recorded three wins and 10 top 10s, including a runner-up at the Australian Women’s Amateur and fifth at Augusta earlier this year. Last year at the U.S. Women’s Open, Baba was one of just four amateurs to make the cut. Her play was strong enough in the first three rounds that final round struggles—she carded a 78—weren’t enough to drop her from the top 50. Anna Davis (a) An old saying is apt here: Don’t look back, something—or in this case someone—may be gaining on you. The current roster of LPGA Tour pros would do well to heed the advice. Davis, a 17-year-old headed to Auburn University, is at the top of the American Junior Golf Association ranks and listed as fourth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Last year the lefty alerted the golf world to her presence by winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur by a stroke over Ingrid Lindblad, currently the world’s top ranked female amateur, and Latanna Stone. The victory gave Davis exemption into seven LPGA Tour events. She made the cut in five of those. Let’s say it again: Davis is 17, just out of high school. Yet she’s played well against professionals, beaten the best amateurs and learned to maintain her composure through mistakes. Her return to the Augusta Women’s Amateur was marred by four penalty strokes that not only ruined an otherwise strong round, but also knocked her out of the tournament. Still, she is coming off a win at the Junior Invitational in March. Davis played in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open but missed the cut. Jin Young Ko Currently number one, Jin Young Ko has been at or near the top of the Rolex Rankings since 2019. And since that year she has been a force. Ko has 15 LPGA Tour wins (and 26 in all tours). Already this season Ko has two victories to her credit, topping the leaderboard at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and the Cognizant Founders Cup. So the numbers keep adding up for the two-time Rolex Player of the Year. While Ko has yet to claim a U.S. Open title, she has been close—very close. In 2020 Ko finished in a tie for second. The next time around she wound up tied for seventh. A year ago Ko took fourth. In fact, her worst performance at the Open was a still-enviable 17th in 2018. Field Notes Any player could emerge from the pack at Pebble Beach to claim history. Here are a few to watch. By Dave Faries U.S. Women’s Open • Pebble BEach Rose Zhang lines up a putt. The talented young player had the golf world buzzing even before turning pro. The California native had been the nation’s top collegiate golfer as well as the number-one women’s amateur in the world. She is part of a wave of young talent in women’s golf that includes Auburn-bound amateur Anna Davis, below, who has already played well in LPGA events. “It’s an exciting time,” says golf hall of famer Annika Sörenstam. “There are a lot of people to cheer for.” Adam Hunger/Getty Images USGA/Darren Carroll
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